“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” – George Bernard Shaw
A nearly completed student services and administration building
As the year 2017 begins, our school is entering a brave new phase of development. Our vision to lead veterinary medicine and address societal needs requires us to never rest to seek novel ways to expand the horizons of our profession, seek expanded knowledge to understand life’s processes, and educate the next generation of veterinarians and scientists. This upcoming year will mark the opening of a student services and administration building, bringing together for the first time, teams that include information technology, student and academic programs, human and financial resources, development and alumni relations, and the dean’s office under one roof. The building will allow a more cohesive and integrated approach of these support teams to directly interact and serve the school. We are deeply grateful to our clients and campus leadership who provided the funding for the project. In addition, a new Scrubs Cafeteria will open in March, providing an expanded menu and enhanced services for the Health Sciences District. This next phase of development will provide a fresh gateway to our campus from the Arboretum, reminding us of our responsibilities to safe guard the health of our environment.
Surgeons and staff prepare a horse for arthroscopic surgery on it’s hock.
This year, we will further advance our plans for a comprehensive Veterinary Medical Center, focused on the initial phases that include an equine performance center, livestock and medicine facility improvements, and an all-species imaging center. The Veterinary Medical Center will transform the experiences of our animal patients and their human companions through innovative building designs, coordinated patient care, and unique technical advances. We have already begun the initial renovation of existing facilities to expand exam room space and test prototype designs for the future small animal hospital phases. The 10-year plan must be carefully choreographed to ensure that patient care operates smoothly throughout the coordinated phasing of the overall project. We have raised over $90 million dollars from university sources, foundations, and private donors to allow the initial designs of the project to remain on track. Our challenge will be to continue to seek funds from multiple sources to meet our ambitious goal to define the future of veterinary clinical and translational medicine.
Students practice in the Clinical Skills Lab.
In many ways, our future will not be defined through large capital projects, but through the excellence our people bring to their work each day. While buildings enhance our ability to accomplish our goals, they do not create our future. Our future will more likely be shaped through our combined efforts as we push the boundaries of research discoveries, provide innovative educational opportunities for our students, bring advanced clinical services to our animal patients, and serve our communities by advancing the health of animals and people. We each have a responsibility to play our part to build the collective future of the school, etching our mark on the history of the school. Like a well-tuned orchestra, we create a symphony of excellence that inspires us to heal humanity one life at a time, design one experiment that proves a hypothesis, and one teachable moment that lights a spark in our students. The energy, passion, knowledge and skills we all bring to our jobs every day is the secret to our success and we are wise to build from this foundation to forge our destiny, knowing that we all have a part to play as we create our future.